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Your Stories: Lisa Kurtz

Witha career as a potterfor three decades, a local woman has put out beautiful works of art, but a recent life changing event encouraged her to pause and help a charity close to her heart.

Old photographs show a mom and daughter. A daughter with her life's dreams ahead of her. A mother who supported every single one. Lisa Kurtz grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and her dream was to become an artist. In college at the University of Louisville, she decided to enroll in a pottery class.

"I was just hooked on clay. Clay is just so fun, just everything about it. Well, it was for me. I just fell in love with everything about it," says Kurtz.

And so she pursued a masters in ceramics and a career in pottery.

"My pottery is named Highland Pottery because I lived in 20 different apartments in the Highland area of Louisville which is a really artsy, eclectic neighborhood," says Kurtz. She started building her business through art shows and galleries all over the country. They eventually moved here to Knoxville and she had already built up quite a clientele so she continued to create and ship new pieces.

During this time, Lisa and her husband had three kids and when her youngest went to kindergarten, Lisa really started focusing on making a local impact. And she did. She's had a thriving career for 36 years, but it has not come without challenges. Seven years ago her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.